"Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam, where the deer and the antelope play, where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the sky is not clouded all day." Those are the words to Home on the Range, the state song of Kansas. You probably won't encounter a buffalo on your front lawn and there are no guarantees that the sky will never be cloudy, but Kansas is a state you will be glad to call home. Today, wheat fields, oil-well derricks, and herds of cattle are chief features of the Kansas landscape. A leading wheat-growing state, Kansas also raises corn, sorghum, oats, barley, soybeans, and potatoes. Kansas stands high in petroleum production and mines zinc, coal, salt, and lead. It is also the nation's leading producer of helium.

Kansas became the 34th state in 1861. With a land area of 82,282 square miles, Kansas is the 15th largest state in size. It ranks 32nd in population with 2.7 million residents. Kansas was named for Konza (also called Kansa or Kaw) Indians who lived in the area. Spanish explorer Francisco de Coronado is considered the first European to have traveled this region in the 1500's. The territory we now call Kansas was sold to the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Kansas history goes back much further as many dinosaur bones and fossils have been unearthed over the years.

Now that you are moving to Kansas, enjoy sharing with your friends and family these Sunflower State factoids:

State Capital is Topeka.

State Motto: "Ad astra per aspera" - To the stars through difficulties.

Kansas City is an important transportation, milling, and meat-packing center.

Wichita is one of the nation's leading aircraft-manufacturing centers, ranking first in production of private aircraft.

Kansas has 24 state parks.

State Bird is the Western Meadowlark.

Helium was discovered in 1905 at the University of Kansas.

State Animal is the Buffalo.

The Long Branch Saloon still exists in Dodge City.

State Insect is the Honeybee.

William Purvis and Charles Wilson of Goodland, KS invented the helicopter in 1909.

State Flower is the Sunflower.

State Tree is the Cottonwood.

There is a grain elevator in Hutchinson that is 1/2 mile long and holds 46 million bushels of grain.

Former president Dwight D. Eisenhower is from Abilene.

Largest city is Wichita, followed by Overland Park, Kansas City and Topeka.